Puryear and Nichols Earn NCGA East Gymnast of the Week Accolades

Springfield, Mass. – February 26, 2018 – Ursinus College’s Alexandra Puryear (Cranford, N.J.) and Ithaca College’s Carolyn Nichols (Hudson, N.H.) have been recognized for their impressive performances this past weekend, as the duo earned National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) East Gymnast of the Week honors, announced on Monday.

Puryear was named the NCGA East All-Around Gymnast of the Week, while Nichols earned NCGA East Specialist of the Week recognition.

Puryear posted a season-high 37.950 at Saturday’s quad meet at Rutgers, finishing fourth and beating out a gymnast from Division I Western Michigan. Puryear scored season highs on the vault (9.550 and uneven bars (9.450) and added strong performances on the beam (9.325) and floor (9.6250). Her all-around tally was more than a full point higher than her previous season best.

Nichols had a fantastic afternoon this past Sunday, helping the Bombers score a first-place finish in the team’s final home meet of the 2018 campaign at the Harriet Marranca Memorial Invitational. The junior scored first-place finishes in both of her events on the afternoon, scoring a 9.725 on vault and 9.700 on floor exercise. The efforts helped IC easily surpass both Brockport (183.800) and RIC (174.925), as the squad marked a 189.575. With the two strong performances, Nichols now ranks in the Top-10 for both events in the country heading into the final regular-season meet of the year next Saturday. She currently is first in Division III in vault with a season average of 9.685, while she ranks eighth in floor with a 9.655.